Christmas Tree Nostalgia

Many Christmases ago when the Phactors were newly wed, living in relatively tiny apartments, and had limited resources, we had acquired this candelabra "cactus" which is really Euphorbia lactea, and since it had gotten rather large and could not stay outside during winter, we decorated it for Christmas because there wasn't any room for another tree. Those paired stipular spines at each node were perfect for hanging ornaments and the whole thing was quite festive decked out in holiday garb, and it grew a bit each year so there was more to decorate until it reached some 8-9 feet in height. Hard to know if our daughter was warped or traumatized during her early years by this peculiar take on Christmas decorations, but even before she was born a young neighbor came in, looked at our tree, and said, "That's no Christmas tree!" "Well, if that's not a Christmas tree, then those are not Christmas presents under it." His reappraisal of this logic and the definition of a Christmas tree was swift and pragmatic, and he ran to show his parents the unexpected present. And that just goes to show you it's not about the past or tradition, it's about the present.

Quote of note

"Scepticism is an essential part of scientific endeavour. It demands all claims are treated as unproven until evidence and experience either confirm or falsify them. Denialism, by contrast, is the stubborn and persistent refusal to acknowledge what the evidence shows beyond all reasonable doubt." Ophelia Benson

Magnolia macrophylla flower at the stage of seed dispersal (i.e., a fruit)

Phactor Phollowers

About Me

When not otherwise occupied, this author works as an academic botanist, a purveyor of plant diversity, taxonomy, economic botany, and rain forest ecology. The opinions expressed in this blog represent only my own and are in no way connected to the policies of my employer or state whoever they may be. No public resources were used to create this blog although many more foolish things have been done with public monies. Queries, questions, can be emailed to: phytophactor at googlemail (which is abbreviated to gmail) dot com.